Thanks For The Memories
by shadowycat
Summary: Remus Lupin wakes up in an unfamiliar bed next to an all too familiar face and can't for the life of him figure out just how he got there.


Disclaimer:  None of the characters who are mentioned in this story belong to me.  They're all the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling.  She makes the money not me.  I'm only in it for the fun.

                                                                                                  "Thanks for the Memories" 

                                                                                                            by shadowycat

Remus blinked sleepily and snuggled deeper into his pillow.  The sheets smelled so nice and felt so smooth and crisp.  They'd obviously been changed very recently.  It reminded him of when he was working at Hogwarts.  Those house elves really knew their stuff when it came to taking care of bed linen, and the quality of the sheets was really nice too.  The thread counts had to be fairly high as the sheets were always so very comfortable.

He opened his eyes and frowned.  Yes, the sheets were comfy and new and far nicer than anything that he had access to at the moment…ergo…he wasn't in his own bed…soooo…where the hell was he?

He looked around.  Nice bedroom.  Hanging curtains on the bed.  Bookcases…comfortable chairs…probably not a hotel room.  He shifted around in the bed slightly and turned over onto his back, idly realizing as he moved that he didn't appear to be wearing any clothes.  Well, he didn't always wear something to bed…he was pretty flexible about that, but as he lay back and turned his head a bit more, he suddenly realized that he wasn't alone in the bed and it abruptly dawned on him just why he was probably naked at the moment.

The figure lying next to him and turned away towards lengthy windows covered in dark red velvet drapes was clearly a woman.  He could see the smooth creamy flesh of a shoulder and lots of long silky looking black hair that fanned out behind her over her pillow.  He guessed from the lack of cloth or strap on the shoulder that the woman, whoever she was, was also naked.  Which certainly helped to confirm the why.  Now all he needed to do was figure out the where…and the who.

His brow furrowed deeply as he tried to remember what had happened last night.  He'd gone into Hogsmeade…to the Three Broomsticks.  At least that was where he thought he'd gone.  Albus had invited him up to Hogwarts for a meeting.  The Headmaster'd had a few things that he'd wanted to discuss privately…some things that he'd wanted Remus to do for him.  Yes.  He remembered that perfectly fine.  Then after the meeting, he'd joined the staff in the Great Hall for dinner, and afterwards several of them had been planning on going into town for the evening.  He'd been invited along.  Right.  He remembered that well enough, too.

There'd been a fairly large group of people altogether.  He remembered getting to the pub.  It'd been crowded.  It was a Saturday night after all.  There were lots of people…music…did he dance?  He had a vaguely uncomfortable feeling that said that he might've.  But who could he have gotten so involved with that he ended up in bed with her?  Surely not anyone he went in there with.   That would be…oh dear…that wouldn't be good at all.

Suddenly filled with trepidation he shifted around to face the back of the woman next to him.  His movement caused a bit of a gap in the covers that were draped over them both and he could see the graceful line of her back curving down and away against the sheets.  Nope.  No doubt about it.  She was as naked as he was.  Well…now what?  Should he quietly slip out of bed and try to get out of here without any awkward conversation?  She might not remember any more about last night than he did.  But that seemed so…ungallant.  Perhaps he should wake her and introduce himself.  He smiled an embarrassed smile as he pictured that conversation.

"Hi there, my name is Remus Lupin…you don't really know me but it appears as if we had sex last night so I thought I should just introduce myself on the off chance that you didn't remember my name anymore than I remember yours."  Oh yes…that would go over well…no question.

As he raised his head up a bit to try to get a better look at his bed partner while trying to figure out just how to handle this awkward situation, the woman herself turned over to face him and opened her eyes…and the situation got even more awkward than he ever believed possible.

"Minerva!!" he gasped loudly, totally shocked and stunned by this turn of events.

Her eyes, which had been blinking slightly blearily, suddenly opened very wide and she jumped back and sat up gaping at him in astonishment.  "Remus!  What…how…oh my goodness…"

Remus just stared.  With her hair streaming around her like a silken cloak and not a stitch of clothing on her, Minerva McGonagall was a very impressive sight, much more so than he'd have ever imagined in his wildest dreams, if he'd ever had them, which he hadn't…but clearly it was a sight that he should not be seeing.  The look of amazement on his face must've clued her in to her unclothed state because she gaped at him for a moment then glanced down at herself and gasping loudly, she scrambled for a handful of covers which she then pulled up over the front of her naked body swiftly and held in place firmly under her chin.  Her face was almost as red as the draperies behind her.  Then the two of them just sat there and stared at each other in total shock.

Remus finally decided to break the silence and attempting a weak smile he said, "Good morning, Minerva.  Lovely room you've got here."

"Remus," she gasped.  "What are you doing here?"

He blushed as severely as she had as he tried to answer tactfully.  "Well…I…I assume…that is…I think that probably…do you remember anything about last night?" he finished awkwardly giving up trying to explain things himself.

She just sat there and stared at him for a few moments and then licked her dry lips and swallowed hard.   "No…no I can't really say that I do.  I mean, I remember going into town with a group of people of which you were one, and I remember drinking and talking and…I have a vague feeling that I danced with someone…but I can't remember who.  That's really about all that I do remember.  I don't remember leaving the pub at all.  What did happen?" By the look in her eyes, he could see her hoping that there was a logical explanation for the situation that they found themselves in…other than the obvious one that is.

He sighed and gave her another weak smile.  "I wish I had an answer for you, Minerva, I really do, but I'm afraid that I don't really remember any more than you do.  I just woke up here a few moments before you did and couldn't figure out where I was or who I was with until you turned over, and I realized that it was you who was lying there next to me.  I assume that we're in your rooms?"

She nodded.

"But you don't remember how we got here…together?"

She shook her head.

He nodded.  "Uh huh.  Okay.  Well.  Um…think anyone else is likely to remember more than we do?"

That was an idea that clearly hadn't occurred to her until now because her rather red face suddenly went chalk white.  "Oh my god…do you think that others saw us come in here last night?"

Remus shrugged helplessly.  "Possibly…"

Suddenly she groaned and collapsed back down onto the bed pulling the covers up over her face.  "Why do I ever drink?  I should know better by now.  Not that this particular situation has ever come up before…because it hasn't, thank goodness…but there's so often a horrid headache and someone is always there to tell me that I did something amusing that they remember and I don't, and I'm left to try to figure out whether or not any of it actually happened or if they might be making it all up because they know that I don't have a clear memory of what did happen.  Damn."  She finished with a sharp exhalation of breath and flipped the covers down off of her face once more as she turned again to look up at him.

He regarded her sympathetically.  "Well…I don't think anyone is making it up this time," he said with a wry smile and a halfhearted shrug.

"No." she sighed.  Suddenly she reached up a hand and lightly caressed his cheek fondly.  "Remus, I'm sorry.  I know that waking up with me is hardly what you were hoping for this morning."

Thinking back to his glimpse of her unclothed body before she'd grabbed up the covers, he could feel a sudden stirring between his legs and he squirmed a bit uncomfortably as he realized that the thought that they might've made love wasn't actually as unappealing as he'd have once thought it would be…had believed that it should be.  "Please, don't worry about it, Minerva.  If neither of us can remember exactly what happened last night, then neither of us really has any reason to be embarrassed now do we?"

A sad look flitted across her face and she sighed once more.  "No…I suppose not."

He frowned…obviously there was something else bothering her.  "What?" he asked softly.

Suddenly tears filled her eyes and she sniffled and wiped them away angrily as she turned her face away from him.  "Nothing…it's nothing," she whispered.

Remus frowned in concern and bent over her taking her chin gently in his hand and turning her face back to his.  "Obviously it's not nothing.  Something else is troubling you.  What is it?  Does it concern me?  Did I do something…that you do remember…that I shouldn't have?"  He looked worried.

She shook her head.  "No, of course not.  It's silly.  You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he said with a smile.

Hesitantly she reached up and stroked the side of his face once more.  "It's just that…it's been such a long time since I've been with a man in any sort of intimate situation.  I've missed that part of my life…if you must know…and to think that I…well…that I probably made love with you last night…someone sweet and kind…someone that I care about…and I don't even remember any of it….to think that I can't even have the memories but only the embarrassment is just…painful."  Her voice trailed off softly and her eyes filled with tears once more.

His heart clenched suddenly in his chest and then began to beat more rapidly than before.  Slowly he reached out a hand and wiped the tears carefully from her cheeks.  Then he stroked his fingers lightly down her cheek and along her throat to rest his hand on top of her own as it lay trembling slightly on top of the blanket.

"We could change that…if you want to, you know," he said softly as he stroked a finger along the back of her hand and up her arm smiling as she shivered and gooseflesh rose suddenly beneath his touch.

Her breathing began to accelerate slightly.  "What do you mean?" she whispered faintly.

With a slight smile on his face, he leaned over and lightly brushed his lips to hers as he murmured, "We could make some new memories…ones that we could both keep and remember…fondly…no strings attached."

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly, hardly daring to breathe.  "I don't want you feeling that you have to do anything that you don't want to do…just because I'm a silly old woman who obviously can't hold her liquor."

A smile stretched broadly across his lips and lit up his eyes.  "Well…I'm willing to go along with the "can't hold her liquor" part, but there's absolutely nothing about you that's silly…nothing at all."

Her answering smile was teasing.  "I notice that you didn't comment on the "old" part, though."

He chuckled comfortably…sure now of what was to come.  "You don't seem "old" to me, Minerva…in fact, I have a feeling that this will be a wonderfully "new" adventure…"   As he spoke his lips brushed hers lightly once more, and this time hers rose up to capture them eagerly while her hands slid up along the side of his head and tangled in the softness of his hair, pulling him firmly against her as they deepened the kiss.

His mouth tasted wonderful on hers.  His hands felt so warm as they slid down over her skin, the slight roughness of the tips of his fingers…caressing…exploring…touching softly and stroking gently...then suddenly grasping a hold of her and giving an answering pull to slide her body full length against his own.  

A sharp breath caught in her throat at the abrupt contact, and she was swiftly made very aware of every inch of his firm body pressing ardently against her own.  She could feel the taut bunching of the muscles of his thighs as they slid against hers, his lightly furred chest tightly compressed the fullness of her breasts against her ribcage, and…his strong and hard erection pulsed eagerly against her lower abdomen revealing his avid interest most obviously.

She could feel the blood pulsing through the veins in her temples, blocking out all sounds save the sound of his breathing…his quiet whispers…and the thundering beat of her own excited heart.  His caressing fingertips slipped through the supple strands of her hair and set her skin to tingling with their touch and the warmth and friction that they produced sparked to flame the quiescent embers within her.

His mouth trailed hotly down over her flushed and dampened skin…first attending to the rapidly beating pulse at the base of her throat…then moving down to taste the nipple of her breast accompanied by a caressing touch that hefted its weight appreciatively.  

A great calm descended on her soul as she felt once more the deep enjoyment of sharing her bed with someone whom she cared for, and she knew as she opened herself to him and invited him in that when he slid between her thighs and into her body the memories that they'd make together would be ones worth treasuring…and remembering.

                                                    ***********************************************************************

Rolanda Hooch set her coffee cup down and then immediately picked it up again.  Then she wriggled around restlessly in her chair, smirked and chuckled beneath her breath, and set the cup down once more without tasting it while her eager eyes remained glued to the door that led into the Great Hall, as they had been ever since she'd first sat down to fidget with her food.

Her neighboring tablemate, Poppy Pomfrey, had watched this display of nervous anticipation for some time and had gotten more and more concerned about what it might mean…and for whom.  Finally unable to keep her thoughts to herself any longer she leaned closer to Hooch and spoke in a quiet voice.

"What is the matter with you this morning, Rolanda?  You look as if you swallowed a bag of live eels.  Who are you waiting for so avidly and why do I think that they're in for some trouble when they do show up?"

Hooch turned her head and smiled broadly while raising both eyebrows in a show of innocence.  "I'm sure that I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about, Poppy."

Poppy tilted her head skeptically.  "Really.  Don't insult my intelligence, Rolanda.  Remember whom you're talking to here.  You're little better than some of your students when it comes to pulling pranks on people.  Who have you set your sights on today?"

Hooch smirked.  "If you're so sure that I'm up to something…why don't you just see if you can guess?"

Poppy frowned and lifted her gaze to scan the table and see who wasn't accounted for.  The first person she checked for was Snape.  For some reason Hooch seemed to enjoy tweaking his nose more often than anyone else's, but he sat in his usual place and glowered darkly at the world in much the same manner as he always did so that let him off the hook for once…lucky Snape.  In fact, at first glance she didn't see anything amiss…or anyone missing.  Then her glance fell on the seat next to the Headmaster where Minerva McGonagall usually sat…and which was currently quite empty.

A sudden vision of a very tipsy Minerva swaying her way up the road towards Hogwarts flashed through Poppy's mind from the night before…and hadn't she been accompanied by a much more sober Hooch who'd been levitating the heavily sleeping body of Remus Lupin along with her.  

Poppy's eyes quickly scanned the table once more.  Nope.  No sign of Lupin either.  But Filius had been walking with them last night.  In fact, Poppy distinctly remembered seeing the four of them enter the school together before she'd gone off to her own rooms and dosed herself with a hangover preventative…knowing what the likely outcome would be from her own less than judicious consumption of alcohol.  Surely Filius wouldn't have allowed Rolanda to indulge herself in mischief at Remus and Minerva's expense.

When she returned her gaze to Hooch's smirking anticipatory face, though, she had a sinking feeling that Filius or no Filius…Remus and Minerva had been set up grandly last night…and Rolanda was avidly waiting to lower the final boom.

"What did you do to Minerva and Remus, Rolanda?  Did you get them back to their rooms okay last night?  Did Filius help you?" she asked suspiciously.

Hooch grasped her coffee cup once more and raised it to her lips and took a sip from its contents while her eyes sparkled with mischief.  "Well…I told Filius that I could handle them both by myself, since it was obvious how much the poor dear needed his beauty sleep…and I could've, too…if Minerva hadn't passed out cold as soon as we got into her rooms.  So there I was with both of them unconscious on the floor.  Well…you must admit that that was an awfully tempting situation.  I…just left them there, I'm afraid."

"You left them there?  On the floor in Minerva's rooms?  Rolanda, how could you?  Couldn't you have at least laid Minerva on her bed and Remus on the couch?"

Hooch nodded.  "Ah…the couch…yes, I forgot about the couch…I could've done that couldn't I.  Oh well…maybe another time."

Poppy frowned fiercely.  "Rolanda…what did you do?" she hissed.  "You didn't just leave them there on the floor did you?"

Hooch smirked and glanced towards the doorway once more.  "Oh of course not.  That wouldn't have been very comfortable at all.  I…undressed Minerva and tucked her into bed just as you'd have done."

Suddenly afraid that she knew what was coming, Poppy persisted.  "So you put Minerva to bed…how thoughtful, and…just what did you do with Remus?  You've already said that you didn't leave him on Minerva's couch.  Did you take him down to the guest quarters, where he belonged?"

Hooch shrugged.  "That would've been an awfully long hike, wouldn't it?  I was pretty tired and rather dizzy myself by that point.  No, I didn't think that Minerva would mind an overnight guest.  He was one of hers after all now, wasn't he?"

Poppy's eyes opened wide.  "Rolanda Hooch!  Tell me that you didn't put Remus in bed with Minerva."

Hooch snickered softly and made shushing motions with her hands.  "Keep it down will you.  I can tell you that if you want me to Poppy…but it would be a lie.  That's exactly what I did, I'm afraid.   I know, I know…I'm an evil woman and I'm going to suffer for it someday…but right now…I'm having much too much fun to care." 

The Quidditch mistress was having a very hard time suppressing her laughter as she leaned against Poppy's arm and chortled in her ear.  "Can't you just picture them this morning?  Both waking up absolutely starkers in Minerva's bed.  She probably screamed bloody murder…the poor man probably jumped out of her bed and ran around trying to find his clothes while she continued to scream at him like an incensed harpy and probably called him all sorts of names.  Each of them will be sure that they shagged the other…and simply don't remember it!  God, I wish I could've been there to watch, but I had to settle for coming down here and waiting to see their red and embarrassed faces as they come slinking into the Hall for breakfast wondering if anyone else knows about their little tryst."

Poppy was appalled.  "Perhaps they won't come at all…"

Hooch shrugged and wiped a tear from her eye.  "Well…I suppose they might not…but if that's the case, there's always a chance to drop a few choice words in the staff room later.  It'll serve Minerva right for implying that I showed a bias against her precious Gryffindors when I refereed the last Gryffindor/Ravenclaw match.  It wasn't my fault that her keeper couldn't keep his hands on the Quaffle.  So now she'll think that she couldn't keep her hands off our adorable werewolf.  There are worse things in life to be thinking, believe me."

Poppy hardly knew what to say to that.  She glanced away from Rolanda's smug face and was just in time to see Remus and Minerva enter the hall together.  A slow smile spread over her face when she realized that far from seeming embarrassed or upset, they actually seemed rather…pleased.  Both of them had contented smiles on their faces and they walked fairly close together and talked happily to each other.

With a nod and a genuine smile on her face, Poppy nudged Hooch in the ribs and directed her attention to what she'd been waiting for.  "Well…there you go, Rolanda.  The results of your little trick are in…but somehow I don't think they're exactly what you were expecting.  It seems as if instead of embarrassing them both publicly…you actually did them a favor."

Hooch turned to stare at the victims of her little prank and her mouth fell open.  Clearly Poppy was right.  The little scene of embarrassment and outrage that she'd been chuckling over since last night, was apparently just a figment of her imagination.  By all appearances, what had resulted from her little trick had been something quite different.  In fact, the happily smiling Minerva looked as if she'd gotten into the cream pitcher and had shared it with a very smug and relaxed looking wolf.

Poppy leaned in to the chagrined Hooch and whispered cheerily, "Well, shall I go over and tell Minerva who she has to thank for her sudden good fortune, I'm sure that she'd be delighted to know what you got up to last night…or shall we just leave this one alone?" 

Hooch grimaced.   "Oh shut up," she murmured in a rather disgruntled tone as she dropped her face into her hand and stared in annoyance across the table at the obviously well pleased couple.


End file.
